Survey of 42,000 Consumers Reveals Vehicles that Exceed Expectations, Ford and Porsche Score Third Straight Annual Wins

TUSTIN, Calif., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- An "ideal" is defined as conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence. In the 2010 Ideal Vehicle Awards, announced today by automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, owners rate their new vehicles by how closely they come to their ideal. "After owning and operating a vehicle for some time, consumers often identity shortcomings and ideas about what they would like to change about their vehicle," says George Peterson, President of AutoPacific.  "The IVAs are based on owners' ratings of their new 2010 model year cars and trucks across 15 key vehicle attributes ranging from power and acceleration to interior storage. The cars or trucks that owners would change the least are the most ideal."

"In today's vehicle market, quality is expected, and car buyers take many factors into consideration – styling, safety features, fuel economy and more," says Peterson. "IVA winners deliver the most of what consumers are really looking for in their vehicles. Shoppers can use the IVAs as a benchmark for vehicles that are designed and built with customers in mind."

For 2010, the top-rated vehicle overall is the Range Rover, which received a fresh look and improved powertrain for the 2010 model year and climbed from last in its class in 2009. The top rated car is the Suzuki Kizashi.  The 2010 Kizashi was also the top rated vehicle overall in AutoPacific's recently announced 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.

The top-rated popular brand is Ford, outscoring GMC for top popular brand. The top-rated premium brand is Porsche, outscoring Lincoln and Land Rover for the most ideal premium vehicle brand honors. Porsche and Ford are three time brand winners, scoring top rankings in 2008, 2009 and 2010 IVA rankings.

"Ford Motor Company leads the industry with a total of eleven segment winners. No other manufacturer came even close," said Peterson.  "In addition to these eleven segment wins, the Ford brand scored highest of any brand in the 2010 research, including all premium brands."

Of the twenty-seven Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) categories, American brands have sixteen segment winners, European brands six and Japanese brands five. Surprisingly, no Korean brands scored segment wins.

The top-rated product segment is Large Crossover SUV, beating out last year's leading category, Large Car. American buyers continue to value large, comfortable vehicles suitable for suburban driving and longer distance highway cruising.

*Also winners of AutoPacific's 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

In addition to identifying segment winners, IVA also establishes numerical ideal vehicle ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market. These results come from calculating owner input across 15 specific areas related to a vehicle's attributes, including: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver's seat comfort, driver's seat visibility, interior technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.

About AutoPacific

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm, founded in 1986, also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific's websites: http://www.autopacific.com and http://news.vehiclevoice.com.

SOURCE AutoPacific

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